Houston is going to be super young this year. Only 15 scholarships this year, and next year, 7 players are juniors. This team may not turn heads this season, but we are 2 years away from being either awesome or just terrible.

The Mustangs saw the most turnover on offense. The anchor will be JR QB Brad Simmons who returns for his 3rd year as a starter. He has had a great career thus far and is expected to continue. He won't have the backup support this year (which he needed last year as he missed 3 games) so hopefully he can stay healthy. The biggest issue on offense could be the graduation of HBs Jared Williams and Rishaad Wimbley. Combined with losing backup QB Wade Harrison SMU lost 53% of their rushing yards from last season. Luckily coach Jello spreads the ball around so they return over 500 yards of rushing from last year's #3 and #4 HBs Isaac Richardson and Quincy Williams.​

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The receiving corps was decimated as they graduated 3 WRs and their best receiving TE. SMU returned 3 WRs who were all rated worse than 69 but they hit the recruiting trails hard last year and have 3 rookies that come in rated between 78-81. They'll be very young but should grow into studs for the future. The receivers will be led by SO Tommy Freeman who led the team in receiving last year as a true FR.​

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The O-line will be improved from last year. They only graduated 2 SRs but the true FR and SO that are replacing them are better than they were last year. The line still isn't where coach Jello would like them to be, but they definitely are heading in the right direction. The player to watch for the future is true FR G Curtis Baker who enters school rated 82.​

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Defense (86?):​

The defense played exceptionally well last year and was one of the nation's best, despite being bereft of talent. The D will be greatly improved this year as they only lost 1 guy. Despite returning 10 starters the D is still very young and growing. The D-line, which came on late in the season and started racking up sacks didn't lose a single guy from the 3 deep depth chart. This should be the strength of the team this season.​

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The linebacking corps lost their best guy from last season, but returns 3/4 starters. In the middle we should be solid, led by MLB Michael Moore. On the outside there is a ton left to be desired as SMU is very weak. Hopefully this won't hurt the team too much.​

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SMU returns all 4 DBs from last year who may not have gotten many INTs, but they played some serious lock down coverage and are probably responsible for half of the D-line's sacks. If they can blanket receivers like they did last year then the SMU D should be very solid once again.​

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Prognosis:​

As defending national champs there's obviously very high expectations for this team. While the defense is the lower rated squad most of the questions are on the offensive side of the ball. Can the new stable of HBs replace Williams and Wimbley? Can a receiving corps where 3/4 top receivers are 1st time players step up? If these questions are answered in the affirmative, then SMU can have another good season. The Mustangs, who have played more user games than any other team, have a brutal schedule as once again 4/9 of their conference games are user games. Hopefully they can get enough Ws to make it to the Big XII CCG once again, but that'll be a very difficult task.​

Houston is going to be super young this year. Only 15 scholarships this year, and next year, 7 players are juniors. This team may not turn heads this season, but we are 2 years away from being either awesome or just terrible.

Maryland lost starters who had been big time players through out their Career. This is how the team looks

QB - Freshman Mike Cunningham has been billed as the guy coming out of spring practice. Coach Truth says this is the best QB I have had at UM. Eric Parker and Collin Thomas return as the back ups

RB- Rory Morris is looking to return to form. He is subbed by Brandon Ross and the Terps added big back Justin McCarthy 6' 245 LBS DANG. He is the bruiser of the group. Talent is young and returns here.

FB- Gone is the big Cierski. In is the bigger Justin Petty. Petty is a MAN child 6'1 262 and a JR

WR- Diggs returns. However Go to Marcus Leak is gone as well as Burns. Time for Diggs to truely shine as the number 1. Jacobs and King are good enough to hold down the fort.

TE- Darrell Green spent on offseason thinking about one play a drop on 4th and 6. He comes back looking great at 89 overall. His blocking skills are so good he could start on the OL. Patrick Morris is the same class as Green. He is the pass catcher of the group and has looked much improved this offseason.

OL - Madaras returns. The NFL ready LT has been the terps best OL for 3 seasons now. Just a JR watch out. Andrew Zeeler gets his shot at LG. the SR needs to preform with FR Mark Williams looking great in camp. C Chris Rawlins is big and athletic. Watch out he could be the next great Maryland OL. RG Grommer returns. Looks to improve on his up and down JR year. RT Rodger Edwards enters as the starter. Rumors out of Spring training is that he has been the second best OL behind Madaras. SUBS- True FR Tremaine Pollock 75 is the Swing tackle. Coaches love this kid. The other back ups were mentioned thoughout. Williams and Patrick Smith.

DE- Starts and ends with Scott East. He is a badass. His back up Jed Archer is no slouch and would play more on other teams. Marcus Larson starts at RE however he is being battled by FR Fred Heffner. Heffie is a beast and reminds coaches of East every day. The Duo could start together at some point this season.

DT- Former 4 Star Anthony Brewster returns as the guy with the most reps last season however Roman Braglio and Darrell Jackson are rumored to be out playing the former big time recruit. It could get interesting here with subs go as Doug Brown is no slouch as well. The DT position returns everybody next season.

LB- AJ Hendy who is a SS transfer Moves to Will LB. The move lets FR Andrew Finley learn one more season before he is unleashed. Hendy is a good athlete but not elite which is why he was moved down. Shifting from Sam LB to Mike LB is Lukas Foreman. Foreman has to replace the beast himself LA Goree. Foreman has looked the part in spring. The guy im excited to watch is SOPH Jeremy Neal who seems to have taken a huge step forward. At SAM LB Cole Farrand moves from the back up Mike position last season. He has to replace a 3 year starter. but brings elite speed to the position. John Smith a highly recruited FR last season is his back up and should get some PT there this season.

CB - Terps return JUCO Sam Walton the teams best CB from last season. He is bigger Stronger faster and ready to end his career on a high notw. Fisher is a guy who transfered in and has played well in the slot for 2 season. This is the first year he will play on the outside. Freshman Jim Heard has looked good in practice. Lets see how that transfers over into the game.

S- FS Clark returns with Chandler moving to FS as his back up. Curious to see how Rob Bowers preforms this season as he has looked great in camp. At SS Jake Hinds is HUGE at 6'4 247 and he can roll with 99 accell and 87 speed. He will be learning on the fly

QB: Once again we have a huge controversy. Sams still appeals to me as the best QB on the team despite being less mobile than Bender. But Bender has proven his raw skills are better than Sams'. Going to be a tough decision. Plus we have Carlos Johnson coming off his RS year with a good arm but no mobility.​

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HB/FB: Thomas Walker gets the starting nod, he isn't that fast but has shown good playmaking ability in the past with a breakout game last season. Behind him is the giant Kevin Dixon who remains a third down/goal line back who has proven some value. We would like to get the two back system really flowing this year. Also, RS JR Jarvis Leverett could see some PT with amazing 95 speed but his 88 acceleration makes me think he won't reach max speed until he reaches the secondary. Got a decent 80 overall FB with surprisingly good speed, watch out, he may be a sleeper in the run game. ​

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WR/TE: Roach and Vaughn finally fill the top two spots and while they are only in the mid-high 70s they have proven their worth in games past. Lockett will be our slot receiver while RS FR Mike Hall will make 4 wide appearances. TE is rather slim this year with our top two being 70 overall, I normally don't utilize them much in the passing game and they aren't the greatest blockers, hopefully they exceed expectations​

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O Line: Looks good with the average Run Block being 88.6 among the starters. They also have some good pass blocking, which is really what we need to protect whoever will be calling the snaps, something this team desperately needs to figure out. ​

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Defense:​

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D Line: They have improved from last year as Gates and Miller look to control our 3-4 Multiple style defense. I expect a lot more pressure than last year, it is time this front seven became vicious, but looking at the LB...well you'll see. ​

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LB: Outside Derrick West (85 overall) they are all mid 70s, but young so hopefully they all have some hidden talent. Since they are the first line of defense and I prefer the attacking 3-4...it worries me a little that I won't be able to stop opposing run games. ​

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Secondary: I love my secondary this year. 3 young sophomores coming off great FR years, hope they don't slump. They all have the skills to shut down the outside WRs. Then we have our JR FS Lee Smith who is in his first year starting but he has an amazing 96 speed, 89 Jump with decent coverage skills (his highest skill is 97 juke...odd). Then we have the hard hitting Laron Holland at SS, he should be a major staple to this secondary. ​

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Special Teams: Rankin will be punting and kicking. I have HB Leverett returning both kickoffs and punts while Vaughn will be the second man on kickoffs. ​

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Prediction: I want at least 8 wins this season with at least two user victories. I don't expect a CCG appearance even but do expect a decent bowl with a victory. ​

Offense - This is the best overall offense yet for Georgia Tech, and the good news is that they will only lose one starter that won't have a better replacement next year.

QB: Star recruit Ben Rogers will get his chance to play this year. His accuracy is amazing (97!), and he is fast, as well. Hopefully his coach can do a better job teaching him where to pass than he did with his predecessors.

HB: Rogers will have a very nice running back to give the ball to in Broderick Snoddy. He has primarily been a returner in previous years, but Snoddy believes that with enough carries he can be an All-ACC performer. He will be spelled by two solid redshirt freshman in Sammie Lewis and Jeremy Richard. They will be a nice thunder and lightening approach once Snoddy leaves.

WR: Rogers has more talent at WR than the Yellow Jackets have had in years. They will start Senior Anthony Anderson, but it's just freshmen and sophomores after that. Sophomore Travis Williams will be the number 2 guy, and Derek Kelly could be a Freshman of the Year candidate playing the slot.

TE: The tight ends are also young with a freshman and a sophomore getting all of the reps there. Ross Morales had a solid year last year, but he will see more looks this year, and freshman Victor Henderson will play in the few two TE sets they use.

OL: This is the most experienced part of the line with 3 seniors. However, those guys have nice replacements already lined up for the future. With an average rating of 85.4 and no one less than 83, it's a solid group.

Defense - Despite losing their top defender in Quayshawn Nealy, Tech returns plenty of talent with most of it in the secondary.

DL: The defensive line appears young, but they only lost one contributor from last year, and have a better replacement for him. DT John Battle had a great freshman year with 7 sacks, but he will need some help this year. The front four will need to play strong to free up their safeties to make plays like they did last year.

LB: With Nealy gone, Ryan Dean will get the chance to really make an impact this year. He could have an All-ACC year. He will play on every down, but the other LB spot will rotate based on the situation.

CB: It will be tough to beat these cornerbacks deep. Larry Hope and Jerredith Jiles are two of the fastest players in the nation (98 SPD), and they both have very good man cover skills. Zach Laskey will only play in true passing situations, but he's one of the better nickel backs in the country.

S: Lamar Brunner was a star last year. The JUCO Sophomore was a finalist for the top defensive awards playing in the back of the 4-2-5, and he should be great again this year. Senior Corey Dennis will play one strong safety slot and is a very balanced safety. He can tackle like a linebacker but has good cover skills. Sophomore Jonathan Thompson will play a big role in run situations while Lynn Griffin will be more involved in pass plays.

Outlook - This team lost 4 games last year, but three of them came in heartbreaking fashion. They lost on a last second TD to Houston ( niuhuskie224 ), lost in 4 OT's to Maryland ( LSUTRUTH ), and lost on a late pick and controversial first down to Virginia ( dakota7 ). An early game against BYU will be a test for where this team is, but if they win that then they will probably be battling Virginia for a chance to play in the ACC Championship.

Offense -- Expect big things out of this unit, which returns Heisman runner-up QB David Watford. Watford is a true dual threat quarterback, who accounted for 34 total touchdowns and over 2500 total yards. Watford lost most of his weapons from last year, but the new ones this year might be better. Freshman HB Deon Taylor is a load with game changing speed. Better bring more than one tackler or he will run over you and not look back. HB Pete Walters is coming off an outstanding freshman season, where he accounted for over 2000 all purpose yards and was named a freshman all-american. Walters isn't as powerful as Taylor, but he has even more speed and acceleration. The wide receiving corps is young, tall, fast and talented. Look out for this unit. At tight end, Mackey finalist Micheal Cutler returns for his junior year. The only real weak spot on this unit is along the offensive line, as UVA has two new starters at guard. Both players are outstanding run blockers, but will need some help with pass protection. Expect the Cavs to let things start on the ground, with Watford, Taylor and Walters carrying the load.

Defense -- Young and explosive is the only way to explain this defense. The strength of the entire team is its defense line, where all four starters return and are rated in the upper 80's. Last year's entire linebacking crew graduated, but the new starters are just as good. Freshman MLB Dan Johnson and sophomore OLB Steve Allen are young and fast, and can't wait to hit ACC opponents. The secondary is young and inexperienced, but expect them to learn quickly and become reliable playmakers.

Outlook -- Winning the ACC last year was amazing. Getting a shot at a BCS title was unexpected, but taking a loss there left this team hungry for another shot. Don't be surprised if the Wahoos are back in the mix again this year.

Offense -- Young, Wild, & Free. Sophomore QB Grady Terrell steps in to bring the Horned Frogs the success they saw behind The E MVP Casey Paschall. (Hope Casey is doing well in rehab). Not only does Terrell need to refocus, after playing WR/CB last season, but he has also been given complete control of this offense (expect to see some hurry-up!). Toting the rock is a bulldozer in HB Shaun Chase who will run through guys then run away from them. The downfield targets lack big play ability, you won't find a Diggs here, but the group doesn't lack stature as Hicks and Anderson are the starters here. Sims and Gilbert at TE are both duel-threat guys. Then you have the strongest group on the team where upperclassmen dominate the offensive line.​

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Defense -- Learning & Growing. Defense has been lacking here for a couple seasons. This group has an easy goal of performing better then last season's horrendous effort. They would make for the perfect opportunistic defense if someone could catch worth a lick. The defensive line is average and the linebacking crew is make up of 5 Sophomores. Thankfully, the secondary has more experience but not much depth. The strength of this defense is senior P Hans Ingold.​

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Outlook -- A Top 25 season is ahead. This team is far from where it needs to be and that all falls on the coaching it has received to this point. Think of a poor man's WVU here, the QB isn't as accurate..the WRs lack that big play ability..and the defense is terrible. We'll see if the D can cause a few stops a game to give the Frogs a shot at some W's​